Apparatus for pouring ingots



April 17, 1956 G. R. HAZLETT 2,741,814

APPARATUS FOR POURING INGOTS Filed Sept. 17, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR.

BY 2/4244" W April 17, 1956 HAZLETT 2,741,814

APPARATUS FOR POURING INGOTS Filed Sept. 17, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2JNVENTOR.

BY Ital/ J m M United States Patent U APPARATUS FOR POURING INGOTS-George Ross Hazlett, Tarentum, Pa.

Application September 17, 1952, Serial No. 310,096

1 Claim. (Cl. 2279) This invention relates to new and usefulimprovements in apparatus for pouring ingots, and it is among theobjects thereof to provide for the pouring of solid ingots which aresubstantially free of piping without the need for hot tops or othermethods of feeding metal to the center of the ingot after the ingot hasbeen poured.

The invention will become more apparent from a consideration of theaccompanying drawings, constituting a part hereof, in which likereference characters designate like parts, and in which Fig. l is avertical section, partially in elevation, of an ingot mold and a movablepouring ladle embodying the principles of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a similar View illustrating the position of the pouring ladlewhen the pouring of the ingot is half-way completed;

Fig. 3 is a similar view illustrating the position of the pouring ladleadjacent the top of the mold;

Fig. 4 is a view in perspective of the ingot mold and pouring ladle tomore clearly illustrate the same; and

Fig. 5 is an isometric view diagrammatically illustrating the equipmentused in connection with the invention.

With reference to Figures 1 to 4 of the drawings, the numeral 1designates a conventional ingot mold in which the molten metal,designated by the reference numeral 2, such as delivered by anopen-hearth ladle, is poured and allowed to solidify to form the ingotthat is subsequently employed in the rolling of slabs, bars or shapes,such ingots weighing several tons.

Ordinarily the metal is poured into the top of the ingot from anopen-hearth ladle such as the ladle 3 shown in Fig. 5, the stream ofmolten metal in Figs. 1 and 4,

designated by the numeral 4, being that emitted from the open hearthladle 3.

When pouring ingots direct from the open-hearth ladle to the mold 1 asin conventional practice, the metal strikes the base of the mold withconsiderable force and causes splashing of the molten metal on the wallsof the mold. Such splashing results in freezing of the metal andproduces a rough surface on the ingot after it has solidified and isstripped from the mold, which requires laborious chipping or grindingoperations, particularly on ingots of alloy steel.

By the conventional center pouring process hot tops are employed whichare usually made of refractory clays and are supported on the top edge 5of the ingot mold. The pouring of the molten metal is continued untilboth the ingot mold 1 and the hot top, not shown, are filled. Subsequentcooling of the molten metal results in shrinkage that forms what isknown as a pipe or hollow portion in the center of the ingot. Inavoidance of pipe formation the surplus metal of the hot top feeds intothe piping or ingot cavity to obtain a solid ingot with a minimum ofcroppage, which is the excess metal in the region of the hot top thathas to be removed after pouring. This piping is to a large degree causedby the swirling action of the metal rising in the ingot mold caused bycenter pouring, and the present invention is designed to overcome thesplashing and swirling of the metal and to a large degree eliminatepiping so that the need of hot topping the ingot molds is dispensedwith.

In accordance with my invention I employ a special pouring ladle 6having ears 7 by which it is suspended as, for example, by chains 8having links 9 that loop over the ears 7. The bottom of the pouringladle 6 is provided with a plurality of pouring outlets 10, which arebest seen in Figure 4, from which the molten metal feeds into the ingot.By mounting the chains 8 on a drum 11, Fig. 5, the ladle 6 can be raisedand lowered in relation to the cavity of mold 1. The stream of metal 4flowing from the spout of ladle 3 falls into the special-pouring ladle 6and flows out through openings 10 into the mold.

In the initial pouring step the pouring ladle 6 is adjacent the bottomof the ingot mold 1 and the metal is poured in as shown in Fig. 1 andflows out through the outlets 10 into the ingot mold without producingany splashing of the metal. Any splashing resulting from the pouring ofthe stream 4 takes place inside of the pouring ladle 6 where it cannotsplash the inner walls of the ingot mold 1.

As the metal rises in the mold 1 as shown in Fig. l, the pouring ladle 6is gradually raised in the manner shown in Figs. 2 and 3, maintainingsubstantially the same clearance between the bottom of the ladle and thelevel of the molten metal in the ingot mold 1 until the mold It iscomplete filled. The raising and lowering of the pouring ladle 6 may beregulated in proportion to the rate of pouring of the stream 4 fromladle 3 by means of a power unit comprising the usual speed reducer andmotor, generally designated by the numeral 11, Fig. 5. The chains 8 passover pulleys 12 and are connected to drum 11. As shown in Fig. 5, theapparatus for operating the pouring ladle 6 may consist of a mobileunit, generally designated by the numeral 13, mounted on uprights 14having wheeled axles 15 movable on track 16. The apparatus is providedwith a control platform 17 for the operator that controls the movementof the pouring ladle 6 by the control element designated by the numeral18 that operates the power mechanism 11. An observation platform 19 mayalso be provided for supervising the movement of the mobile unit inrelation to a group of ingot molds that are customarily mounted ontrucks 20. The open-hearth ladle 3 is provided with a stopper mechanismSo that controls the fiow of the stream 4 and stops such flow whendesired.

In the pouring of ingots by the method hereinabove described, thepouring ladle 6 is successively lowered into the ingot molds 1 on thetrucks 2 and the open-hearth ladle 3 is moved by a crane to the positionof bringing its fiow spout above the pouring ladle 6. The stopper isremoved by the operating mechanism 3a and the metal pours, as shown inFig. 5, into the pouring ladle 6, but not before the latter is in itslowermost position within the ingot mold as shown in Fig. 1. As thepouring progrosses and the pouring ladle 6 rises to the top as shown inFigs. 3 and 4, the stopper mechanism 3a is operated to stop the stream4. The trucks supporting the ingot molds l. are then successively movedunder the pouring ladle 6 until they are all filled, a sutllcient numberof ingot molds being provided to receive the capacity of the open-hearthladle 3. A control lever 18a may be actuated to drive the wheeled axle1511 to cause the entire pouring unit to move on the track 16 to alignthe pouring ladle 6 with the next ingot, or if the ingot molds are movedby their supporting trucks, the pouring unit may remain stationary alongwith the ladle 3 while all the molds are filled.

The structure of Fig. 5 is for illustration only as the inventionresides in the use of the pouring ladle and the method of pouring ratherthan in the structural equipmeat to: handl ng, the pour ng ladle andingots.v

By means of the above described pouring method solid, sound ingots areformed with clean outer surfaces that equire t. of; touching-up to ridthe ingot of surfiaee, flaws which may; result from the handling of theingot in the soaking pit furnaces or elsewhere after they have beenstripped from the ingot molds.

Although one embodiment of the invention has been herein illustrated, itwill be evident to those skilled in the art thatrnodifications may bemade in the details of con struction and the pouring ladle and itsmanipulation, and in the number offlowstreams from the pouring ladle tothe ingot mold without departing from the principles herein set forth.

I claim:

Apparatus for; pouring ingots comprising a substantially ellipticalshaped ingot mold, a substantially elliptical shaned receptacle.suspended. tn be movable in a. Vertical direction in said mold above thelevel of the molten metal in the mold, said receptacle having animperforate bottom and having spaced divergent horizontal flow passagesat the end walls thereof to divert the flow of metal poured into thereceptacle to areas of the ingot mold remote from the center thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS304,314 Hafiey- Sept. 2, 1884 512,005 Cantzt t t Jan. 2, 1894 1,375,589Hosack Apr. 19, 1921 1,961,529 Rowe June 5, 1934 1,983,579 Ennor et'al.Dec. 11, 1934

